An email and social media postings warn that restaurants that put lemon wedges or slices on the edge of your beverage are transferring bacteria to you, according to a college study.

The facts: The email quotes a “new” study by a New Jersey microbiologist who found nasty bacteria on two-thirds of tested lemons.

The study isn’t new, having been published in the Journal of Environmental Health in December 2007, Snopes.com found.

The study — co-authored by Anne LaGrange Loving, an assistant professor of science at Passaic County Community College — analyzed 76 lemon wedges served with water or soda at 21 restaurants in Paterson, N.J. The study found that 69.7 percent of the wedges produced some form of microbial growth from the rind and/or the flesh, showing 25 different microorganisms, including bacteria and yeasts, that have the potential to cause infectious diseases, Snopes.com reports.

But that doesn’t mean that customers are at high risk for getting seriously sick, Snopes.com notes.

The study did not determine the origins of the microbes, nor did it determine the risk or give any examples of people who have gotten sick from contaminations.

The authors said that the bacteria could have come from the fingers of a restaurant employee, could have been introduced onto the lemons from anyone who handled them before they arrived in the restaurant, or airborne spores even could have landed on the fruit or knife used to cut the lemon, Snopes.com reports.

The study concluded: “Restaurant patrons should be aware that lemon slices added to beverages may include potentially pathogenic microbes. Further investigations could determine the source of these microorganisms, establish the actual threat (if any) posed by their presence on the rim of a beverage, and develop possible means for preventing the contamination of the lemons.”